Almost 100 artists now come under the banner of Rogue Artists’ Studios - based in Crusader Mill, a former textile factory on the edge of Piccadilly that has housed the complex of working studios for 16 years.

In December, following a multi-million pound sale of the entire mill site, the 97 resident artists will all be on the hunt for a new home ahead of its redevelopment into premium apartments.

Sadly, so too will a few survivors of the textile trade, some of which have roots there going back a century or more.

While the exact leaving date is still unknown, it means this year’s Open Studios will probably be Rogue’s last as the current collective.

We went down to meet some of the artists and see what the loss of Rogue Artists' Studios might mean to them.

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David Gledhill, painter and co-director of Rogue

(Image: Vincent Cole)

It isn’t, says co-director David Gledhill (the first official Rogue sign up after Colin Sinclair set it up at Hanover Mill 21 years ago), the end of Rogue but it will mean this strong community will be broken up.

“We realise that we as artists have accelerated the regeneration, that we didn’t start it,” says David, “but if there’s some way we can be stakeholders in the process it would be encouraging.

“Artists in Rogue are showing all over the world; they’re huge ambassadors for the city. Everywhere they go, they’re saying, ‘Manchester is this important place’.

“The council is missing a trick in not using the artistic community to promote the city in the way Berlin or Glasgow does.”

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The Rogue Open is the perfect opportunity to discover the kind of creative careers that this studio has enabled.

Speak to almost any artist here and they’ll explain how having an affordable resource like Rogue means they can be a full time artist - a situation that has resulted in headline grabbers Liz West, Hilary Jack, Mike Chavez-Dawson, and Owl Project.

All of these remain dedicated Rogue artists, and open their studios at the weekend - on Friday from 6pm, and then from midday on Saturday and Sunday.

Jenny Steele, architecture and interiors artist

(Image: Vincent Cole)

The value of letting people experience the space and speak directly to the Rogue residents, says architecture and interiors artist Jenny Steele, is immeasurable.

Originally from Scotland and a graduate of Goldsmiths, she moved to Rogue to become a full time artist.

“It seemed like a really supportive environment,” remembers Jenny, who has had a first floor studio for around four years, “and I did a lot of research into different cities.

“For two years now, I’ve been able to be a full time artist, and I have quite a few projects lined up but I need the kind of space Rogue has to develop them.”

Hilary Jack, mixed media sculptor

(Image: Vincent Cole)

Addressing the impending move is Hilary Jack - whose extraordinary work at Bury Sculpture Centre set our hearts racing last year - who has been with Rogue for 15 years, since its move to Crusader Mill.

Celebrated for her large scale works, she has creating a new piece that blocks out the view from her studio - the kind of view that had made the mill a desirable development project.

“We Are Not For Sale is a comment on the plight of artists in major urban centres,” she explains, “who are being used as cultural collateral and then moved out of the area when it’s desirable again.”

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Steve Symons, The Owl Project

(Image: Vincent Cole)

Steve Symons - of Owl Project - is of a similar mind. He’s convinced Rogue helps him and his colleagues Simon Blackmore and Antony Hall to dream big, winning them major national projects - such as their £500,000 Cultural Olympiad commission ~Flow, which turned the River Tyne into a musical instrument.

“Now, we’re working nationally representing Manchester,” he says, “but to carry on like this without Rogue will be really hard.”

Martin Nash, painter and co-director of Rogue

(Image: Vincent Cole)

Rogue’s co-director, painter Martin Nash, will be showing two years’ worth of work at the Open, and he says the challenge for him and David Gledhill now is finding a way to maintain Rogue’s principles of affordable and accessible studios, as well as keep hold of their ambitious community.

“I personally have always seen Rogue as an organisation we want to keep as simple as possible where all kinds of activities can go on,” he says.

“We want to attract recent graduates as well as more mature and establish artists.”

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Jan Chlebik, photographer

Jan Chlebik - who balances his artistic work with time as a commercial photographer - moved in when the only space left was a room with no windows, perfect for a photographer in need of a dark room.

Now, 16 years later with a much bigger studio, he says Rogue is the space that makes him feel happiest. “I’m a fine art graduate with 34 years in photography,” he says, “but when I come in here I am filled with joy.”